Alonso - Ferrari lowered expectations after Vettel

Ferrari had to lower its expectations after Fernando Alonso and then Sebastian Vettel failed to deliver the title to Maranello.

That is the view of 40-year-old Spaniard Alonso, who came close to the world championship whilst wearing red but now races for Renault-owned Alpine.

"In my time and Sebastian's time, Ferrari was not ready to be world champion," he told f1-insider.com.

"We both tried it and came close to winning, but we didn't make it."

"Now they've changed the way they plan and the expectations are no longer so high. You can see that in their choice of young drivers.

"Now they're thinking more about the long term and building up young drivers than the short term," the two-time world champion added.